CANBERRA, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Northern Territory (NT) parliament voted Thursday night to pass laws that will legalize voluntary assisted dying from early 2028, making NT the country's eighth and final jurisdiction to legalize euthanasia.
Under the laws, anyone over the age of 18 who is suffering from an advanced medical condition that is expected to cause death within 12 months will be able to choose euthanasia.
It means voluntary assisted dying for terminally ill patients will be legal across all of Australia from 2028, with the other seven states and territories having all legalized the practice since 2017.
The NT laws will prohibit healthcare workers from raising the topic of voluntary assisted dying with patients, but will require workers to provide government-approved information to patients who ask.
Each case will be assessed by two independent doctors with training on voluntary assisted dying and overseen by a review board before a patient is allowed to proceed with euthanasia.
The NT previously became the first Australian jurisdiction to legalize voluntary assisted dying in 1995, but the law was overturned in 1997 when the federal government banned the NT and the Australian Capital Territory from making laws regarding euthanasia.
The ban was lifted in 2022. ■
